Business Ethics, Industries, Gender and
the Corporate World
Almerinda Forte, Division of
Administration and Economic, College of Professional Studies
Abstract
Business ethics, especially among top managers, has become a
topic of concern to the public and business community. As a
result, much attention has focused on the development of moral
reasoning in corporate individuals. Past research examining
individual and business decision behavior indicates that
organizational-level variables have a significant impact on
individual decisions. Since managers’ decisions impact
organizational goals and organizational ethical behavior, this
researcher investigated the degree to which there are differences
in the moral reasoning ability of business managers of selected
industries and whether there are significant differences between
top, middle, and first-line management levels, and gender.